Improvement in let-off mechanism for looms



UNITED STATES PATENT EErcE.

GEORGE DRAPER, OF MILFORD, MASSACHUSETTS. I

`IMPROVEMENT IN LET-OFF MECHANISM FOR LOOiVlS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 39,469, dated August11, 1863.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE DRAPER, a resident of Milford, in the countyof Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have made a new and usefulinvention having reference to what is termed an Escapement LetOffMechanism for a Loom for Weaving Cloth; and I do hereby declare the sameto be fully described in the following speciiication and represented inthe accompanying drawings, of which- Figure l is a top view, and Fig. 2an end elevation, of a loom or certain parts thereof, as furnished withmy invent-ion, the nature of which is a combination consisting not onlyof an escapement or detent lever, its wheel, and an apparatus fordepressing or operating the said lever, but of a stopping mechanism tobe operated by the lay or while the lay may be beating up, the wholebeing substantially as hereinafter specified.

There may be other ways or means for operating the stopper77 of thestopping mechanism than by a connecting-rod leading from the lay, ashereinafter specified. Such means may be considered as amechanicalequivalent for such connecting-rod and lay.

rIhe stopper (to arrest the motion of the detent-lever) and the means ofactuating the stopper and holding it firmly in position are a feature orelement of my invention, the remaining features or elements of it beingshown in the United States Patent numbered 36,029, and granted to SilasShepard on the 29th day of July, A. D. 1862.

The object of my addition to the loom and the escapement let-offmechanism is to prevent the beats of the reed of the lay against thecloth Vfrom operating to cause the let-off mechanism to deliver yarnfrom the yarn beam faster than may be desirable in the process ofweaving. My said addition not only completely arrests the action of thelet-off' mechanism at the period of beating of the reed against thewoven cloth, but on recession of the lay permits the said let-offmechanism to be operated by the strain of the warps and cloth. Themechanism of the said Shepard is operated by the combined actions of thesaid strain and the blow of the beat of the reed, and consequently theyarn will be often let oft' by such means or forces too fast, wherebyuneven or improper Weaving' will be the result. With my inven.- tion thestrain of the warps and cloth incident to the weaving process is all theforce in action on the escapement to effect the delivery of the warps.

In the drawings, A denotes the frame of a loom, While B is thebreast-beam, C the lay, and D the yarn-beam thereof. The cranked shaftfor operating the same is shown at E as having its bell-cranks a ayconnected to the lay by the two pitmen b b. In their passage from theyarn-beam D to the reed and breastbeam the warps pass over a guide, F,which for the escapement let-oft' mechanism has usually been awhip-roller77 having its journals supported by two arms projecting froma horizontal shaft. In the accompanying drawings the equivalent for suchwhip-roller and shaft is shown as a long and a narrow plate, c, curvedtransversely and provided with journals d d or shaft portions projectingfrom its opposite ends, the whole being so that while the warps may bepassing across the plate c their pressure on it will cause it to turn orexert a leverage on an arm, d', projecting from one of the journals, thesaid journals being supported in bearings in two standards, c e, makingpart of the loom-frame.

The above-mentioned mode of making the guide F is not to be consideredas having been invented by me, and therefore Imake no claim to it,although I have shown it as a substitute for the Whip-roll and itsshaft, as represented in the patent hereinbefore mentioned. A gear, f,of the yarn-beam engages with a pinion, g, (see Fig. 3, which is aninner side view of the escapement mechanis1n,) affixed on one end of ashort shaft, h, on which is affixed an escapement-wheel, e'. A doubledetent-lcver or escapement, k, like that of a clock-pendulum, works onthe escapement-wheel, and is arranged as shown in Figs. 1,2, and 3.Vhile one of its pallets, lm, is out of engagement with theesca-pement-Wheel the other is in engagement therewith. A rod, n, restson the palletl and depends from the arm d.

The lever-guide F, the arm d, the rod u, the detent-lever yor escapementk, the wheel t', the shaft h, the pinion g, and the gear f constitutethe escapement let-off or yarn-delivering mechanism, or the main part ofsuch, as is exhibited in the said patent. To render it complete, it

may have the counter-Weight (shown in Shepards patent) applied to theguide F for elevating it during the slackening of the yarn.

In carrying out my invention I have combined with such escapementletott` mechanism a lever or stopper7 G, and its actuating mechanism,which, as shown in the drawings7 is a rod7 I, jointed to the lower armof such stop per, and also to the lay7 the saine being so that duringthe vibrations ofthe lay the lever or stopper G will be turned orvibrated on its fulcrum7 which is the shaft h. The upper arm of thelever projects directly underneath the pallet Z of the detent lever lc,and at the periodv of the beat of the lay or the reed thereof up againstthe cloth will be drawn up to the pallet, so as to p1 event anydepression ofthe later, and consequently any rotary movement of theescapement-wheel during such time. On recession of tlze rred acountermovement of the stopper G will take place and leave theescapement-wheel detent-lever free to be acted on by the contractilepower ot the cloth and the warps extending` between the breastvbeam andthe yarn-beam.

As I have hereinbefore stated, the escape ment mechanism without myaddition will be operated by the compound forces of' the beat of thereed and the strain of the' Warps and cloth, the etiect being to causethe Warp to be loosened as the beat may become harder. My additionprevents the force of the beat of the reed from having any effectWhatever 0n the eseapement, because the strain on the warps cannot sooperate on the escapement mechanism as to cause yarn to be let ofi' ordelivered until the reed may have receded from the cloth.

I do not claim the escapement let offer yarndelivering mechanism asdescribed in .the aforesaid patent; but

Vhat I do claim as my invention is as follows, viz:

A combination consisting not only of the escapement detent-lever k, itswheel i, and the apparatus as described for depressing or operating'such detent-lever, but of a stopping' mechanism (viz., the lever G andits connecting'rod I) to be operated by the lay or While the lay may bebeating up7the Whole being arranged substantially as and for the purposespecified.

GEORGE DRAPER.

Witnesses:

It. H. EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr.

